69 Panamanian baseball players have debuted in the MLB

Baseball player José Caballero made history when he entered the ninth inning as a shortstop for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB), thus becoming Panama’s 69th debutant in the Major Leagues. His debut came against the Colorado Rockies.

From this extensive list there are some who have managed to leave an important legacy in the MLB, as well as have put the name of Panama on the radar of the great American teams in this sport, such as Carlos Lee, Rod Carew, Mariano Rivera, among others.

For this reason, we will review some of the Panamanian baseball players who have managed to debut in the Major Leagues and leave their name framed in the history of baseball.

Christian Bethancourt

The current Tampa Bay Rays player has had an outstanding career within the highest baseball circuit in the United States. Betancourt made his MLB debut in 2013 with the Atlanta Braves and was with that franchise until 2016 when he migrated to the San Diego Padres. He subsequently played for the Oakland Athletics to the present day in Tampa Bay. In the 2023 season he has reached 23 bases and eight hits.

Charles Lee

Nicknamed El Caballo, he made his debut in 1999 with the Chicago White Sox and remained with the franchise until 2007 when he was hired by the Milwaukee Brewers. He went through the ranks of the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins and Texas Rangers. During his entire career, he averaged .285, hit 358 home runs and drove in 1,363 runs.

Mariano Rivera

Considered the best closer in MLB history, he played his entire career with the New York Yankees. He has received countless individual honors and in 2019 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame with 100%, being the first MLB baseball player to be inducted unanimously. He was also a thirteen-time All-Star selection and was a World Series champion with his team in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009.